Various publications, including patents, published applications, technical articles and scholarly articles are cited throughout the specification. Each of these cited publications is incorporated by reference herein, in its entirety and for all purposes.
Retroviral integrase (IN) catalyzes the insertion of viral DNA into the DNA of the infected host cell. IN is one of three retroviral-encoded enzymes that are essential for retroviral replication and, therefore, is an important target for drugs to treat HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, the inevitable development of drug resistant HIV mutants drives a continuing need for additional strategies to block the activity of this viral enzyme.